Obama's pick for VA chief has donated to Romney, Boehner

Former Procter and Gamble chief Robert McDonald is President Obama’s choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Mark Lennihan, AP)

Robert McDonald, President Obama’s choice to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, isn’t much of a political contributor but he’s been parochial when he has made campaign contributions.

The former chairman, CEO and president of Procter & Gamble has contributed to the campaigns of House Speaker John Boehner and Sen. Rob Portman, both Republicans from Ohio and, specifically, from the greater Cincinnati area, according to campaign finance records kept by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics. P&G, the consumer products giant whose brands include Tide laundry detergent and Crest toothpaste, is based in Cincinnati.

Campaign finance records show McDonald also gave to $2,500 to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. He has donated $3,400 to Portman since 2009 and $3,500 to Boehner in 2012-2013, according to a review of the Center for Responsive Politics records. McDonald also contributed to $5,000 to Portman’s Promoting Our Republican Team PAC. McDonald’s campaign donation history shows he has not donated to Obama or Democrats.

Obama on Monday afternoon will formally announce McDonald, a West Point graduate who served in the Army for five years, as his choice to run the troubled VA department, which has been engulfed in a scandal over delays in medical care for veterans.

The problems at VA have concerned both Republicans and Democrats, but McDonald’s political giving history and ties to Portman and Boehner could give him a boost as the Obama administration tries to reverse the department’s woes.

In a statement issued Sunday, Portman said he was glad Obama is tapping “someone with a wealth of experience managing a complex organization who has also had a distinguished military career.”